Here we go again.

It's hard to blame these publishers though when dumbed down sequels like Splinter Cell Conviction and Rainbow Six Vegas sell better than previous releases. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory might be regarded as one of the best games of all time but that don't pay the rent.

Still it's sad to see another series being changed to suit a larger audience to the detriment of its established fanbase, if that is indeed what happens.

Well if we're really lucky, you'll be able to blast through the levels like a psycho nutter but you'll only get good rankings and the coolest kills from playing it properly

Then, i guess, if this game's for 'broader audience', it's ok for me to not buy it, as i don't consider myself to be part of it. More money for GoG.

Pfft, the Hitman games weren't difficult (well, maybe the very first one was, but that one wasn't very good anyway).

I'd say Silent Assassin was the highpoint of the series for me, I hope they don't make the new one too easy.

Ah, the wider audience. The same audience meant to go see the movie based on this title. That worked out well.

Oh fucking hell. Hitman was pretty much the only still running series I actually give a shit about. IO fucking it up for the sake of cracking the idiot market makes me a rather sad panda.

The only thing that made them difficult after the original was the limited saves, and even that was optional later on wasn't it? Death to Spies one and two were much harder and more "hardcore," so in a sense Hitman was already the more mainstream game in the genre.

In any case I don't think he means straight-up difficulty, I think he means the gameplay itself. I expect Hitman 5 will be much more of a shooter.

I expect that means "hold down W and 47 will automatically sneak in like in Assassin's Creed!" and "open the map, paint a target that is conveniently always visible on the map, and you get the ability to push a button to have 47 automatically go there, killing/sneaking past enemies automatically and then execute the target with a really cool animation! We want you to feel like the hunter, really empowered and not having to do anything (unlike real hunters but those guys are boring compared to the imaginary ones)!". I'm just making stuff up because I don't like the sound of that and got kind of a negative emotional response from it since it's about one of my favorite game series.

I'd much rather have the game be a lot harder than the earlier ones. The thing I always wanted from the games was randomization, it's kinda boring when you beat most of the maps because you start to remember where everyone is and what they're doing.

Another game series sentenced to death with the horrible curse of dumbing down for the masses?
Yee-fucking-haaaw.

Eh, I think Kane & Lynch proved IO Interactive have long since lost all the talent they had. That game was dog shit wrapped in pig shit and set on fire.

I've only played the first game (spent $60 on it too, ugh), but from what I hear K&L2 was somehow even worse. I know the Hitman series has been pretty good (though the first game did not age well at all), but anyone who would buy an IO Interactive game after that is either hopelessly optimistic or a complete fanboy.

I never could get into the series. I played a little bit of one of them, and I didn't know what the hell I was supposed to do.

Fixed. :(

YAY for streamlining!